Although I suspect that was a reference to the appalling spectacle palmed off on a demoralised and desensitised viewing audience as 'Reality TV' [1], I can't help but wonder, at one and the same time, if I haven't just been subtly insulted

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[1] As if a more artificial form of 'entertainment' could possibly be contrived

LoL wrote:Just for the record, by way of illustration, I believe that what you meant to write was probably Yes, you do. Everyone has a need, deep down, to be insulted; just as they make frequent typos

When correcting someone else's punctuation, you really need to take care. For instance, quotation marks around the bold text, a final full stop, and either a comma or a colon after the word 'probably' would all go some way toward removing the beam from out of your own eye.

ROFLMAO ... This is fun - I may not even be so bothered about not getting a proper reply any more

I have to say "Touche ... It's a fair cop, Guv"

Nevertheless, whilst the Oxford comma was, in and of itself, inexcusable by any standards, it paled into insignificance when compared with the horror that is "from out of" - I'm gonna be waking up in a cold sweat for months now, thanks to that little monstrosity

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On a side note, I apologise for the tardiness of my reply, but I was somewhat distracted by the mass gun battle outside my window ... (The police have turned up now and put a stop to it ... spoilsports ... but it was fun whilst it lasted) - Oddly enough, despite a number of shots being exchanged, by a number of people, between the house opposite and those massed at the end of the garden, no windows appear to have been broken ... (What are the chances, eh?)

LoL wrote:Nevertheless, whilst the Oxford comma was, in and of itself, inexcusable by any standards

Not at all. In this context it was just good manners. It is there for clarity. Just try reading the 'and either... or' construction without the Oxford comma. And be thankful I'm not American, otherwise I'd be bunging 'em in everywhere.

LoL wrote:I'm gonna be waking up in a cold sweat for months now, thanks to that little monstrosity

Excellent! Success!

LoL wrote:mass gun battle outside my window

Where on Earth do you live?

By the way, we're still waiting for you to explain what 'Big Bother' is.

RedWillow wrote:Not at all. In this context it was just good manners. It is there for clarity. Just try reading the 'and either... or' construction without the Oxford comma. And be thankful I'm not American, otherwise I'd be bunging 'em in everywhere.

Nope ... that's a feeble excuse, if ever I heard one - If you find yourself having to use a comma after an 'and' then you need to re-write your idea in a less confused manner in the first place

RedWillow wrote:Where on Earth do you live?

I could tell you - But then I'd have to shoot you

RedWillow wrote:By the way, we're still waiting for you to explain what 'Big Bother' is.

Heh, an apposite typo - It was meant to be 'Big Brother' ... but it amounts to the same thing